Would drafting Anthony Richardson be the answer for the Indianapolis Colts?
The Indianapolis Colts are in desperate need of a franchise quarterback, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson could be the perfect guy for the job.
Heading into the season, many believed the Colts would win the AFC South and possibly even reach the Super Bowl. That made sense seeing that the team acquired former MVP quarterback Matt Ryan to join forces with stars like Jonathan Taylor, Quenton Nelson, Shaquille Leonard and Michael Pittman Jr.
However, this has ended up being a miserable season for Indy. They currently own a lousy 4-8-1 record and trail the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South.
The Colts will likely wind up with a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Although the team needs help on the offensive line and in other areas, it’s imperative that they use the pick on a promising quarterback like Anthony Richardson to build around.
It has been tough trying to replace Andrew Luck
Back in 2012, Indianapolis replaced Peyton Manning with Andrew Luck, the first overall pick in that year’s draft. The Stanford product would quickly blossom into the team’s franchise quarterback and remain in Indy until his shocking retirement in 2019 at age 29.
Indianapolis has yet to find a long-term replacement for Luck, who has now been gone for over three years. Since his retirement, the team has started six different quarterbacks: Jacoby Brissett, Brian Hoyer, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Ryan and Sam Ehlinger.
Rivers, who played just one season for Indy, is the only one of the group to lead the team to the playoffs. But at the not-so-young age of 39, he was nothing more than a Band-Aid.
Ryan was supposed to have a Rivers-type impact, but he has struggled mightily this season and was even benched briefly in favor of Ehlinger.
Anthony Richardson has star potential
The 2023 draft will be full of quarterbacks who possess an enormous amount of potential. Guys like Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Will Levis are expected to go somewhere in the first round. While those three might be taken before the Colts pick, Anthony Richardson should be available.
Richardson is extremely athletic and could eventually develop into one of the NFL’s top dual-threat quarterbacks like a Lamar Jackson or Jalen Hurts.
This season for the Gators, Richardson recorded 2,549 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also picked up 654 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
Richardson isn’t the most accurate QB in the world, completing just 53.8 percent of his passes this season. But if he can improve that weakness, he certainly has the potential to be a superstar at the next level. He has a cannon for an arm and amazing speed as a runner.
Although it may take a couple years for Anthony Richardson to develop, the Colts could finally end their search for a franchise quarterback by drafting the former Gator.